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GET YOUR HEART RACING


One-of-a-kind cardio pieces help boost member and staff enthusiasm


familiar plug-and-play treadmill, bike, climber, rower and elliptical—if you’re a low-fee club with a skeleton staff. But if your business model and staff-


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ing complement are more generous, there are more options today than ever particularly when it comes to cardio equipment, says Greg Lawlor, vice-pres- ident of sales at STAK Fitness. “The new specialized cardio pieces


are the latest category change since the elliptical in the 1990s,” says Lawlor. “They offer more and fresh options for members and trainers, make workouts more interesting, and can help a club differentiate itself.” These pieces distinguish them-


selves by being unique in their fea- tures, usually combining elements of


32 Fitness Business Canada November/December 2016


s it still good enough for a club to offer just the basics when it comes to exercise equipment? It might be the sensible path— sticking with the traditional and


the treadmill, stepper and/or elliptical. Manufacturers often recommend that clubs provide staff assistance when the machines are introduced because they aren’t always intuitive to understand or master. Some clubs put these cardio pieces


in their functional training areas and design group classes that feature them. If you operate a centre that’s over 20,000 sq. ft., this can be challeng- ing, but very worthwhile, to integrate any new piece of equipment this way, notes Lawlor. “A big club is like a big ship—it’s not simple to change course,” he says. But for some big facilities, one


or more pieces of specialized car- dio equipment can be a potential problem-solver. “If your members are asking for re-


sisted running, which is a big trend, it’s tricky because the only option un- til recently was to install a weighted


sled on turf,” says Lawlor. “A big club’s space may be maxed out, so 900 or even 500 square feet of turf isn’t pos- sible. But now some of these machines can do the same job with a smaller footprint.”


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